DETROIT — Teoscar Hernández stopped to admire the flight of the changeup he just demolished. He waited until it touched down in the stands to toss his bat sideways toward the visiting dugout and start his trot around the bases.
The Dodgers had been missing the big hit all road trip, playing in one-run games over their past five contests. Hernández had fallen just feet shy of hitting a home run the day before. But in the Dodgers’ 6-1 win against the Tigers on Sunday, his two-run homer in the sixth inning gave the Dodgers the lead.
Tyler Glasnow, pitching on regular rest, turned in a gem of a start. The right-hander limited the Tigers (63-73) to one run — scored in the fourth inning, when Glasnow gave up two singles and walked a batter. Those were the only baserunners he allowed in seven innings.
The Dodgers (82-55) widened their advantage with a three-run eighth, scoring two runs off wild pitches, to claim a series win.
The Dodgers’ 2-4 road trip put the finishing touches on a 13-14 August — their only month this season with a losing record. As the Dodgers move on from a mostly abysmal August, here are three story lines to follow in September:
Can the offense get going?
An offensive turnaround seems to be the answer to their influx of one-run games — 15 in August alone. The Dodgers entered Sunday with just 203 runs scored in July and August, ranked No. 22 in the majors.
“I’ve got to think about what I can do to spur this offense,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday night. “I don’t know right now as I sit here. These are our guys that have performed. I believe in them. But I don’t know the answer, as far as making changes and things like that, whether it’s lineup construction. But I think in total, you’ve got a group of guys that just really aren’t swinging the bats great.”
September call-ups could be one way to inject new energy in the lineup. Catcher Will Smith (neck) is set to return from the injured list, likely making Ben Rortvedt the odd-man out behind the plate, judging by the way he’s split time with Hunter Feduccia.
“Certainly looking at a left-handed bat,” Roberts said of the position-player addition when rosters expand on Sept. 1. “That’s something that we could use if we’re talking about adding a player. I don’t know who the player is going to be, but that’s kind of where my head’s at.”
Catcher Dalton Rushing (elbow) is expected to eventually serve as that left-handed bat off the bench. But, though he has started a throwing progression, he won’t be ready to return Tuesday, Roberts said.
Will Shohei Ohtani return to pitching?
The Dodgers are waiting until they get back to L.A. to decide on next steps for Shohei Ohtani, after he wasn’t ready to return to pitching Sunday.
In less than a week, the Dodgers have gone from an abundance of starting pitching options to, with right-hander Roki Sasaki landing on the injured list and Ohtani’s ramp-up in a holding pattern, possibly needing a spot starter in the coming weeks.
None of this signals a big change for the postseason rotation. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani are all still the candidates for the four spots.
At this point, however, Ohtani building up to a full starter’s workload by the end of the season seems to be a long shot. So, he’s more likely to piggyback with another starter, at least in early rounds, or solely focus on hitting.
Can the Dodgers claim a bye?
The Dodgers could benefit from a soft September schedule. They’re only set to face one team that entered Sunday in playoff position — the Padres, who held the last NL wild-card spot.
“You have to play the games,” Roberts said. “And if we don’t play well, it doesn’t matter who we play. And if we play well, it doesn’t matter who. That’s the way I feel.”
Though the Dodgers proved just last year that they could win the World Series after starting in the wild-card round, it’s an easier route for the No. 1 and 2 seeds in each league.
The first-round bye not only means fewer games but also time to line up pitching for the division series.
The Dodgers, as repeat champions, have played more games than any other team the last few years. But Roberts didn’t embrace that as an excuse.
“I hear the thought that the games we played in the last couple years, the part of the year, the grind,” Roberts said. “I get all that, but I just have a hard time accepting that. But I think that there’s some arguments being made for that. But I just feel like today, I look at the lineup, and I feel good about our guys.”
Sunday was the Dodgers’ last game in August, with an off day Monday. Maybe the turning of the calendar to a new month could provide a natural mental boost for the offense.
“Once the calendar gets to September, I think guys by nature see the finish line more,” Roberts said. “They get more excitable because their finish line is getting closer. So that that could be it. But yeah, we just need something to kind of spur that change. And for me, I’m just trying to look at what I can do to help spur that too.”
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